6 things you could do to really wow a recruiter

It takes a lot to impress a recruiter. You're just one more candidate in the cattle call of hundreds they'll see this year, thousands over the course of their career. How can you make sure they think of you as more than just a number?

Good luck.

We asked a bunch of people in HR to recall one thing a candidate did to really wow them. What we learned is that they're not easy to impress. But doing any of these eight things may help you imprint your name on their memory. Hey, it worked for somebody.

Getting results even before getting hired

A candidate was interviewing for a job as a social media manager where the responsibility would be to grow the company's social media presence. In between her first and second round interview, she convinced more than 1,000 Twitter users to start following the company's Twitter account. During the second interview she was offered the position on the spot.

— John Boese, founder and CEO of EliteHired.com in New York City

Outsmarting the experts

A non-technical candidate explained our technology to me and had several relevant follow-up questions. The person had conducted their own research prior to the interview and really grasped what we do.

— Amber Jackson, director of talent acquisition at LISNR in Cincinnati

Making a personal connection

I interviewed a candidate last year who referred to me by name repeatedly during our phone interview. After interviewing candidates for years, this was the first time I had a candidate own that personal connection that truly set him apart from all others. While he was not offered that particular position, he was highly considered for other opportunities within the organization. I challenge all job seekers to bring a bit of personality to the interview to set them apart from other candidates.

— Kristina Butler, CEO of KB Career Solutions in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Spelling out the specifics

A candidate’s CV looked good, so we sent him the job spec asking him to confirm that he could do everything asked for. The "wow" bit was when he returned the job spec with a comment next to each requirement saying how he matched it. Our client was similarly impressed and this set the standard to match other candidates by.

— Bernard Morgan, general manager of Computer Recruiter in Cardiff, Wales, U.K.

Responding right away

I am always very impressed by candidates who get back to me when they say they will and ones who are very responsive when I reach out to them. These candidates are generally the ones who get the job because they are working very closely with me and are super accessible. It shows they are very interested in the position and also respectful of my time and the fact that I need certain things from them very quickly.

— Tracey Russell, national recruiter at Naviga Recruiting & Executive Search in Tampa, Florida

Personalizing thank-you notes

We are used to getting email thank you notes these days. At best, each person gets an individualized one, and at worst, everyone gets the same one (unless there is no thank you note at all). However, a recent candidate took the time to handwrite six different thank you notes to everyone they met during the interview process. Each one was personalized with what they discussed and they were sent via traditional mail.

— Kevin Raxter, managing partner of The Centrics Group in Norcross, Georgia